Anthony Fenton, 57 of Bishops Road in Fulham has been convicted of hoarding 55,000 indecent images of children at Southwark Crown Court.

But Fenton walked free from court because Judge James Wadsworth decided he was too ill to face jail and suspended a 10 month sentence for two years.

The court heard that Fenton had built a collection of photographs on hundreds of CDs over a four year period, some of which were described as level four and five, the two highest categories, depicting serious child abuse.

Fenton had been cautioned in 2006 for secretly filming up girls' skirts on the escalator at Topshop in Oxford Street and had a bag of women's underwear in a filing cabinet.

Lewis Power, defending, said that his client had suffered severe psychosexual difficulties after undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's disease, a form of cancer, and his physical relationship with his partner had ended.

The court also heard that Fenton had lost his job as concierge of a Mayfair office block, was now living on benefits and £7,500 in debt.

Judge Wadsworth, passing sentence, said: " It is always disturbing when one sees level five or even level four images. I find it again disturbing that not only you, but also your doctor, expressed a view that you were not a risk to others.

" Everyone who lays hands or eyes on level four or five images is endangering small children who are taken and abused for the purpose of satisfying that desire."

However, the judge also said: " I bear in mind two things, firstly that you are quite seriously ill and secondly that your image use is passive."

Judge Wadsworth suspended Fenton's 10 month sentence for two years, placed him on the sex offenders' register for ten years and ordered him to undergo a sex offenders treatment programme.